The 27-inch version of the Cintiq monitor you can draw directly on will have creatives drooling – while the Cintiq Companion Windows 8.1 tablet gets a performance boost (and can act as a monitor for your computer).

Author: Neil Bennett

Author: The 27-inch version of the Cintiq monitor you can draw directly on will have creatives drooling.

You’ve now got an additional reason to clear away all of the remains on last year on your desk, sweeping away the pile of Christmas cards and other detritus. You need some space – ok, a lot of space – ready for this new 27-inch Wacom Cintiq 27QHD display.

Wacom has also lauched the Cintiq Companion 2, and we've just received full specs info about it, which you can read about after the Cintiq 27QHD.

Read on to learn more about the Cintiq 27QHD and the Cintiq Companion 2.

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Step 1

You’ve now got an additional reason to clear away all of the remains on last year on your desk, sweeping away the pile of Christmas cards and other detritus. You need some space – ok, a lot of space – ready for this new 27-inch Wacom Cintiq 27QHD display.

Wacom has also lauched the Cintiq Companion 2, and we've just received full specs info about it, which you can read about after the Cintiq 27QHD.

Read on to learn more about the Cintiq 27QHD and the Cintiq Companion 2.

Step 2

Wacom Cintiq 27QHD – screen

The Cintiq 27QHD’s 27-inch screen has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 – the same as most 27-inch monitors, but smaller than the 4K and 5K we’re seeing on displays from Apple (on the iMac 5K), Dell and HP, among others. It’s a 10-bit display, capable of displaying 1.07 billion colours - and 97 per cent of the Adobe RGB colour gamut. This makes it capable for much creative work.

Step 3

Wacom Cintiq 27QHD – size

While the Cintiq 27QHD will likely dominate your desk, it’s not as big as you might expect compared to the 24HD. To keep the size down, Wacom has broken off the ExpressKey buttons for launching keyboard shortcuts and Touch Ring into the separate ExpressKey Remote. Button/Ring fans can add up to five ExpressKey Remotes to each Cintiq 27QHD.

Step 4

I’m guessing placing the button controls near to you would make them easier to use than having the stretch your hands across the Cintiq (as you do with the smaller Cintiq models).

Step 5

Wacom Cintiq 27QHD – pen

The Cintiq 27QHD uses the same Pro Pen as the other Cintiq models, which offers 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity – the standard for professional art and design work.

Step 6

Wacom Cintiq 27QHD – stand

Wacom has replaced the Cintiq 24HD’s complex stand with a couple of legs – though that does mean you can’t position it exactly or hang it off your desk like you could with the 24HD. The Cintiq 27QHD can lay flat or sit up at 20 degrees.

Step 7

Wacom Cintiq 27QHD – price and availability

The Cintiq 27QHD costs £1499 plus VAT, with the Cintiq 27QHD touch costing £1,750 plus VAT. Both will ship in mid-January. Pricing for additional ExpressKey Remotes has not been announced.

Step 8

Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 – updated

The Cintiq Companion 2 has the same chassis as the first version, but much inside has changed – and there's more choice too. The first Cintiq Companion had two options – a 256GB or 512GB of SSD storage – but the Cintiq Companion 2 has five models with multiple differences between them.

The choice of chips has been upgraded by one or two generations – the cheaper versions of the Cintiq Companion have chips based on Intel's 'Haswell' platform, while the high-end models have brand new 'Broadwell' chips.

Step 9

Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 – screen

The Cintiq Companion 2's 13.3-inch screen is the same size as the first Cintiq Companion's, but much higher resolution (2,560 x 1,440-pixels vs 1,920 x 1,080). This is even higher in resolution than the Cintiq Companion 2's main competitor, Microsoft Surface Pro 3 – which is a less widescreen 2,160 x 1,440.

Step 10

Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 – connect to your computer

One of the most requested features for the original Cintiq Companion – alongside the pipe dream of getting it to run Mac OS X rather than Windows – was to let it act as a Cintiq display when plugged into your desktop (or laptop) via HDMI. This was a feature of the Android-based (and less popular) Cintiq Companion Hybrid - which we’re assuming has now been discontinued.

Wacom’s Cintiq Connect technology allows exactly this.

Look out for reviews of both of the Cintiq 27QHD and Cintiq Companion 2 on Digital Arts soon.

Comments

Ian M said: Comes with a small built in stand, 20 degrees I think. Full stand is sold separately for $400. Looks to be exactly the same as prior Cintiqs.

Ian M said: I bought the first Companion and it's probably the best purchase I've ever made, highly recommended. It's so nice to not have to cart around an Intuos with a loose pen and a laptop while traveling! Now everything fits in the Small Companion case, including a keyboard. I haven't had any scratching problems after a year of use so maybe they've fixed those problems since the 22 came out? My only issue with it is it can get warm on the right side.I've always been an Intuos user, but this 27 QHD is very tempting. I work on 2560x1440 so using past desktop Cintiqs would've been a major downgrade for me. With that resolution finally available in a Cintiq I'll likely spring for it. Using my Intuos is sometimes frustrating after experiencing the Companion. I'll wait to see if there are any major problems first --- looks to be some brush lag in the 27QHD promo video, but that could be a hardware issue. Can't wait to see some feedback on it!

Ian M said: To my great surprise, it's actually $2,800 for the touch version and the standard is $500 less. Much easier on the budget than I'd have guessed. I'm seriously thinking about getting one.

Christopher R said: I can assure you a $4,800 price tag. I can work beautifully on 22-24 inch no complaints ! Wacom is offering a choice in size, you have your 13", 22-24" and now the largest which was previously the 24", now 27".It comes down to your budget, and how large you personally like it !

Christopher R said: The stand I don't like !

Margot said: Ah, but the stand seems a step backwards from the 24". Wonder why.

Margot said: Too big? What's wrong with you people...

Christopher R said: I was expecting a larger version, it's too big for me as well, I'm still extremely happy with mine. What is there goal, one I can lay on to draw. I can't image sweeping my arm on something this big ! You can't rotate it, and the express keys are a remote control, arghh.

bb said: What's the stand going to look like? It all depends on if they changed/improved the stand if I'm going to purchase one.